Well, the schedule announcement is out, so the countdown can begin. On Friday, July 27, the Pittsburgh Steelers will report to preseason training camp at St. Vincent’s College for the 47th consecutive summer, meaning the annual fan pilgrimage to camp began way back in 1965. (Of course, that’s nothing compared to the tenure of the team ownership—the franchise has been in the same family since the Great Depression.) As fans, we love this kind of continuity. It helps define or, perhaps more accurately, excuse the depths of our passion. “Of course we’re going to Latrobe! It’s tradition. It’s the Steelers Way.”
But, has it always been that way? Where did this association with the Steelers brand originate? After all, despite the sense of consistency, like the “good old days,” attached to the franchise, just about everything about the sport has changed since Steeler Nation was born. Consider: When my parents were growing up in the still-Steel City of Pittsburgh, they couldn’t even watch the games on TV—it was considered bad for ticket sales. That seems downright quaint when compared to the $300 I eagerly spend each year on DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket because: (1) I live in New Jersey, (2) ticket prices average a few hundred dollars more than their face value, and (3) the waiting list to become an actual season ticket holder has grown to be about 30 years long.
Aside from the Steelers specifically, the entire National Football League has experienced exponential growth in popularity and profits. In terms of professional sports, the league competes with no one to be America’s Pastime. In fact, the NFL represents 64% of the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world. (I calculated that by dividing 32—the total number of NFL teams—by 50. Every single NFL team appears somewhere on the list.) Gone are leather skull caps, rugby-style passing and Unitas’ Baltimore Colts. Welcome to 2012, where the NFL is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with a tightly controlled, spit-shined image. (As much as I love football, the league can teeter into Big Brother territory. I recommend reading about the head trauma controversy to see what I mean.) In short, the NFL has become a hugely powerful (cultural, financial, all-around) force.
Not to overstate my own importance, but the growth of the NFL and their resulting ownership of fandom in America is thanks to fans like me. The marketing efforts of not only the NFL but of their many and deep—pocketed sponsors (see, for example, VISA and Bud Light) are a thing of beauty in terms of integrated marketing communication. The league managed to take a mere sporting event, build a bigger consumer base, work in just about every medium known to man, and essentially offer long-term relationship status to anyone interested in any aspect of the game, even if they don’t know it at first: Not an NFL fan? No worries; just come to my Super Bowl Party. Oh, you don’t like the game? Well, watch the commercials and the halftime show. We’re rooting for the Saints. They’re wearing black. See? We wear these jerseys every week. Our beer cans and koozies match. In fact, you should see the NFL Shop. I buy hundreds of dollars in merch… Who’s that guy? It’s Drew Brees. Oh, you think he’s cute? He does a lot to help New Orleans. You should follow him on Twitter. I’ll buy you a pink #9 jersey for next season. Cool, now you’re a fan, too. Stop by on Sundays next Sunday.
It is in this relationship building that the NFL has proved most successful. Not because they offer a continuous stream of marketing messages or provide people with weekend entertainment akin to gladiator fighting, but because they offer people the feeling of belonging and pride and nostalgia. We fans care not that those warm and fuzzies for the bygone era are largely manufactured by the current era. We don’t mind coming across as fanatical or cultish in this one aspect of life. We will continue to purchase branded items we don’t need because, really, can you own too much merchandise when it’s your team? Well, yes… you can, just not if you want to enter the afterlife in style!
Photo credit: Snopes.com
So, I’m curious: Are you a fan? What do you think about the NFL’s integrated communication strategies? Do you get those pleasant feelings, or do you think they and we have gone a little overboard? Let’s discuss. Disregard the yellow towel I’ll be swinging around your head.
References:
Arthur, L. (2011, October 20). Can Bud Light score with its 2011 NFL season multi-platform campaign? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://lisaarthur.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/can-bud-light-score-with-its-2011-nfl-season-multi-platform-campaign/
Associated Press. (2005, July 6). Family has unique viewing at funeral home. ESPN. Retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2101713
Badenhausen, K. (2011, September 7). The NFL’s most valuable teams. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/09/07/the-nfls-most-valuable-teams/
Kitchen, P. J. and Burgmann, I. (2010). Integrated marketing communication. In J. N. Sheth and N. K. Malhotra (Ed.), Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Labriola, B. (2012, June 17). Camp practice schedule announced. Steelers Digest. Retrieved from http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Camp-practice-schedule-announced/bb2dec5c-c132-4970-bca4-e362bcab7ec8
Laskas, J. M. (2009, October). Game brain. GQ. Retrieved from http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/200909/nfl-players-brain-dementia-study-memory-concussions
Panter, N. (n.d.) Go Fans NFL integrated marketing campaign. Retrieved from http://corporate.visa.com/_media/go-fans-nflcampaign-fact-sheet.pdf
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